Testing the water BIN or auction?

magic57

I have a couple of ideas that I would like to test on ebay for a possible business in the future.
In order to get an idea of whether they are going to be a success or a flop how should I list them? Should I put a Buy it Now price or auction them? I'm thinking probably BIN but not sure.
Thank you.

Oliver14

Depends what your selling and the price point. have a look at completed listings and see how competitors list them and how successful their sales are in the different formats.

Some items sell very well at Auction but other products are better suited to BINs. It will basically end up as trial and error to see what works for you.

magic57

Thanks Oliver14 for you advice.

J_J_Carter

Yep, defo depends on the product type. I sell items which sell in volume and it's trivial to see the 'going rate' from completed listings. So I BIN with best offer on 3 day listing, as once a buyer has decided they want one, they can't be faffing about for 10 days with a 99p start price when the goods would achieve the 'usual' price in the last 30 secs with snipes.

pitkin2020

Have to say i'm finding BIN's far more successful of late and i'm achieving more than expected but like others have said some items re more suited for one format over the other. If you are just trialling it then why not do one of each.

magic57

pitkin2020 wrote: »

Have to say i'm finding BIN's far more successful of late and i'm achieving more than expected but like others have said some items re more suited for one format over the other. If you are just trialling it then why not do one of each.

That's a brilliant idea pitkin, thank you!

RHemmings

Surely the BIN with best offer, as mentioned above, gives the best of both worlds. As you won't have to sell for less than your target price, but there's still a chance that you'll find out what people are prepared to pay for the items if they make offers.

pitkin2020

RHemmings wrote: »

Surely the BIN with best offer, as mentioned above, gives the best of both worlds. As you won't have to sell for less than your target price, but there's still a chance that you'll find out what people are prepared to pay for the items if they make offers.

An auction may attract a different buyer though to a BIN listing. Its worth testing the water to see which actually suits your product.

Crowqueen

I've always find I leave auctions for unusual, collectable or OOAK items (a collectable stamp, a postcard, a vintage dress, a collectable or s/h pack of tarot cards etc). They find their own price and people have fun bidding.

For media stuff like books and DVDs, or anything else people aren't like to wait a week for (consumer durables - hair accessories, batteries, swimming costumes, new underwear), a BIN is the way to go, as people are likely to want it fairly soon rather than bothering to bid.

magic57

Thank you everyone, all your opinions are very useful.

hermum

An auction initially will give an idea of how much people are prepared to pay, unless it's something you can check on completed listings.